Welcome to Apnea Board ! As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.
Login or Create an Account

Last night my humidifier ran dry. Don't know when but I was awake from 2:00 to 6:00. While awake, I felt very comfortable and did not notice any dryness at all.
I only mention this because my AHI went from <1 to 6.5 for no apparent reason. Good pressure, leaks, flow limits etc. Most were CAs and in the last part of the night.

I know you can have bad days but this is the worst day since starting therapy. Earlier that day I took a 1 hour nap, best nap ever.

Can lack of humidification (even though I was very comfortable) cause this or did just have one of those bad days.

Any help on causes of a "bad" day would be apreciated.

I am an accountant so any advice given here is not medical. If I give any financial advice, you can take it to the bank. However, you will have a hard time cashing it in.

It sounds like your increased AHI was due to events occurring between 2:00 and 6:00 AM while you were awake. This is typical of awake breathing or sleep/wake junk and should be ignored. I don't think that lack of humidification had much to do with the AHI simply the fact that your events during that time were awake apnea not sleep apnea. People tend to stop breathing for short periods many times during the day while they are awake. It is normal.

Thanks Paytona,
I am very curious about your reply. This makes sense to me since I have also noticed that while awake I will have sudden unexpected gasp for air. Kinda like a hiccup only I take in a lung full of air. I told my Dr. And he discounted it. Also I was under the understanding sleep apnea could only happen while you were asleep. The last half of the night is full of episodes and waking moments.

Is this likely to get better as time goes on and I get used to therapy.

I am an accountant so any advice given here is not medical. If I give any financial advice, you can take it to the bank. However, you will have a hard time cashing it in.

The daytime thing might be a mild form of Air Hunger, I do that too. Mostly when I concentrate and forget to breathe. Awake breathing is under partial conscious control, while sleep breathing is automatic (autonomic). So what is a Central Apnea when you are sleeping is called Holding Your Breath when you are awake.

Sleep Apnea does only happen when you are asleep. Awake breathing is naturally inconsistent and varied but the machine does not know you are awake so it scores it as if it happened while you were sleeping. It is not a health problem, it just means you are awake.

Apnea is a suspension of breathing. Sleep apnea is a suspension of breathing only while asleep. As I said, everyone stops breathing temporarily for a number of reason while awake. This is completely normal and nothing to be concerned about.

Scoring apnea events while lying in bed awake will get better if you quit lying in bed awake with the CPAP on and operating. Good sleep hygene says, if you wake up and can not get back to sleep in a short time, get out of bed and the bedroom and do something else until it feels like you might be able to get back to sleep.

Your doctor probably discounted what you told him because it is not unusual nor is it anything to be concerned about as long as it is occasional. If you start gasping fro breath while awake more often, then you need to get back to your doctor about it.

(06-11-2016, 02:48 PM)PaytonA Wrote: Apnea is a suspension of breathing. Sleep apnea is a suspension of breathing only while asleep. As I said, everyone stops breathing temporarily for a number of reason while awake. This is completely normal and nothing to be concerned about.

I guess if you stop breathing too much when you are awake this will not be good for you. But I imagine if that happened you'd be fainting or getting chest pains.

Some people I know are on O2 all day long because they don't get enough oxygen from the air alone even when they are awake. I am on O2 when I sleep because even though my AHI is typically below 1 and often 0 my oxygen levels still fall well below 90% without it.

Quote:Scoring apnea events while lying in bed awake will get better if you quit lying in bed awake with the CPAP on and operating. Good sleep hygene says, if you wake up and can not get back to sleep in a short time, get out of bed and the bedroom and do something else until it feels like you might be able to get back to sleep.

I think this is absolutely right. Shut the machine off and get up and stay up until you are sleepy again. Keep the lights dim and maybe listen to some quiet music, but don't just lie there trying to sleep. You can't get to sleep by trying.

Useful Links

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.